


In The Coldest Time of Year

by HuiLian



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: (and maybe a bit of processing my own issues with winter), Damian Wayne Acts Like a Kid, Damian is an arab boy who does not know how to winter, Fluff, Gen, No editing we die like mne, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter, YeetDC2020, and I will take that to my grave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-20 07:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22078267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuiLian/pseuds/HuiLian
Summary: why is it so hot down here?-However, even though he is overheating from the warmth of this version of the Robin suit, his toes still manage to be freezing inside his boots. How is that possible? He is overheating already, but his toes are freezing. Why anyone would voluntarily live in a region that has winter baffles Damian.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Damian Wayne
Comments: 6
Kudos: 116





	In The Coldest Time of Year

**Author's Note:**

> Happy new year, people! Have some Damian in his first winter! Let's just ignore the canon timeline and let me have this, okay? (and maybe this fic is for me to process also living in winter for the first time ever. But what's a little projecting issues to fic between friends?)
> 
> title from chant (hadestown)

Damian toes the half-melted snow with his boots again. He knows that his boots are water-proof and are insulated to stave off the cold, but he somehow could still feel the wet, cold slush seeping into his shoes anyway. He knows it is irrational. Robin’s gear is one of the best, if not  _ the _ best, in the world. There is no chance that the cold, half-melted snow could get into his boots. But he still  _ feels _ it. 

He tries to stay up on the rooftops tonight, even as far as not jumping into fights he normally would be ecstatic to jump into, but even the rooftops are not safe from the half-melted, dirty slush of Gotham. Gotham’s slush is dirty even on the rooftops. Nowhere is safe. 

It didn’t help that yesterday night was snowing and freezing cold, but tonight is warm. Well, warm for Gotham’s standard, anyway. It is above freezing, so it’s warm. That’s the standard for Gotham. But it meant that some of the snow from yesterday melted, but enough is left to mix with the melted snow and the dirt and grime of Gotham to create a truly disgusting concoction. It also meant that Damian had overdressed for the night, choosing to wear the warmest version of his Robin suit, the one that is designed for freezing conditions. He was freezing yesterday because he didn’t expect the weather to be that cold, but today he is overheating because the weather manages to change so drastically over the course of one night. Truly, Gotham winter is a fickle beast. Damian resolves to check the weather just before leaving for patrol every night. It would not do to be freezing one night and boiling the next night. 

However, even though he is overheating from the warmth of this version of the Robin suit, his toes still manage to be freezing inside his boots. How is that possible? He is overheating already, but his toes are freezing. Why anyone would voluntarily live in a region that has winter baffles Damian. 

(Technically, he also voluntarily lives here. But his father lives,  _ lived _ , here, so it’s not like  _ Damian _ is the one who chooses the area.)

“Didn’t I tell you not to wear  _ that _ suit tonight, Robin?” Grayson said. He is laughing at Damian. He might not do so outwardly - Grayson still tries to maintain the mystique of Batman. For all the time he was caught smiling on camera, Grayson might just as well have given up that particular mystique - but Damian is sure he is laughing at him. The problem is, Grayson  _ did _ tell Damian not to wear the warmest Robin suit for patrol tonight. Damian insists to wear it though. It is because Damian doesn’t want to be freezing again tonight, but it turns out he underestimated the unpredictability of Gotham winter. Just because it was cold yesterday does not mean that it is cold tonight, nor does that mean that it will be cold nor warm tomorrow. It might be freezing again tomorrow night. Gotham winter, again, is a fickle beast. 

“Tt.” That is really the only thing Damian can do to respond. He cannot pretend that he is not overheating, because he is, and he also cannot pretend that this  _ situation _ is not affecting him. How is it that he is  _ overheating _ in Gotham’s winter? Damian was raised in a desert. He should not be  _ overheating _ in Gotham’s winter, no matter what he wears! 

His toes, on the other hand, are still freezing. Why is his body betraying him like this. He was trained to withstand the most extreme of situations, but this is what got him? An overly warm suit and half-melted snow? 

“Come on, Robin.” Grayson nods at him. “Let’s finish up this patrol and then we can go back.” 

“I’m fine, Batman.” 

A snort. Damian supposes he deserves it. That sentence could not fool even the most foolish of children. He, Damian al-Ghul Wayne, Robin, is not fine. 

“Come on. Just a couple of streets left now.” With that, Grayson grapples to the next building and promptly lands on a puddle of slush. Damian winces. Grayson does not seem to think anything is amiss. Damian sighs. On with it then. It doesn’t matter that the slush is going to feel like it’s seeping into every single seam of his boots. Batman went, and so Robin has to go too. 

Grayson truly does not care about the dirty, filthy, disgusting puddles as he flew above Gotham. Mayhaps Bludhaven was even worse. Damian had heard stories about the filthiness of Bludhaven. If the slush at Gotham is already this dirty, then Damian shudders to think about the slush at Bludhaven. 

Then suddenly, Batman stops. 

“Robin? Go back to the Bunker. I’ll finish up the rest of the patrol on my own,” Grayson said. He is standing in a way that Damian now knows is to cover whatever horrific scene is in front of him. As if Damian had not seen horrific scenes before. 

Normally Damian would pester and argue with him, and sometimes Batman even relented. Tonight though, Damian is not looking forward to spending more time in the very, very, warm suit while simultaneously freezing his toes. So he just says, “Come on, Batman. You know I can handle it.” 

It is a token protest. Damian was not as condescending as he could be, and also not pushing as hard as he could have. Both he and Grayson know that. So Grayson just gives him another snort and pushes him towards the direction of the Bunker. After another grumble, Damian goes without further protest. He really cannot wait to peel the suit off and put his feet in warm, fuzzy socks that Pennyworth somehow acquired for him. 

(He is not complaining. Those socks are very comfortable, especially during Gotham’s winter.) 

Damian takes a different route to go back to the Bunker, hoping to avoid the disgusting slush on top of the buildings. He really shouldn’t have bothered. Every single building on Gotham has those filthy things on top of them. But at least this time he can swerve around the worst of it, instead of trudging head-on towards it like Grayson did. 

“Robin!” He hears Batgirl calls out. “Where is Batman? Why are you alone?” 

As he looks back towards the source of the voice, he notices that Brown also trudges heads-on towards the disgusting slush like Grayson did. Why are they like this? Those things are disgusting. Even if they could not feel it seeping through their boots’ seams, surely they must know that trudging head-on towards it would cause the puddle to splash. And who knows what are inside those puddles. This is Gotham. Even fresh snow could not be trusted to not have some truly disgusting things inside of it, much less days old snow that is already mixed with all the filth of Gotham. 

“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Batgirl.” 

“Of course you don’t, you little brat.” Brown has managed to catch up with him, purely by virtue of disregarding whatever it is she is stepping into. That is the only reason she manages to even  _ touch _ his head, in an attempt to smack him. The  _ only _ reason. “So? Why are you alone?” 

“I thought I’ve made it clear that I don’t have to tell you anything.” 

“Yeah, you did. You just have to tell me  _ everything _ .” Brown smiled a truly mischevious smile. Damian does not want to be on the receiving end of that smile. He remembered perfectly well what happened to people (Drake) on the receiving end of that smile. “I’ll ask you again, Robin. Why are you alone?” 

“Tt. Batman wanted to do a case alone. He sent me back to the Bunker.” 

Brown looked at him with understanding in her eyes. Sometimes Damian forgot that she used to be a Robin too, as brief as her time was. “Yeah, they do that sometimes. That’s not all there is, though, is it Robin?” 

Damn it. Sometimes Damian forgot that she used to be a Robin too. That means Brown also got all the training every Robin got, including deduction and also, lying. Grayson might well send her here to make sure Damian went back to the Bunker. 

(Not that Damian particularly  _ wants _ to go somewhere else alone. Right now he just wants to get out of this suit.) 

Damian looks at her. She looks back. 

“I’m overheating in this suit and I can’t feel my toes,” Damian finally confesses. 

“Wait, you’re overheating and freezing at the same time?” Brown frowns. “That makes no sense.” 

Damian gestures with his arms. “That is exactly what I am thinking. How can I overheat and freeze at the same time? Winter is stupid!” 

“Let me get this right. You’re overheating and freezing at the same time? In all parts of your body? Buddy, this might be a conversation you want to have with Batman instead of me.” 

“What? No!” Damian grimaces. “I know perfectly well about the human reproductive system, thank you, Batgirl. I wore the warmest suit today but it’s not cold enough for it so I’m now overheating in my suit!” Damian can feel himself gesturing excessively, but he finds that he does not care. “But my toes are freezing because this disgusting slush is everywhere!” 

Unlike Batman, Batgirl does not have the mystique that disallows her from laughing while wearing the suit. Brown exploits that very much now. The ring of her laughter can be heard blocks away. 

“Stop laughing, Batgirl! It’s not funny!” 

“It’s -hnnn- very - pfft- funny!” Brown manages to choke out between her bouts of laughter. “The high and mighty Robin, defeated by his own suit!” 

“Stop it!” Damian hisses out. Brown does not stop. 

After she  _ finally _ stops laughing, this is what she says. “Have you never thought about doubling your socks? I’m sure you have more than enough socks to do that, Robin.” 

“Doubling. My socks.”

“Yeah. Wear two socks at once. It’ll keep your toes warm, and if you decide it’s too hot after you start moving on patrol, you can always take one of them off. Layering, Robin. Don’t tell me you don’t know that?” 

“Tt. Of course I know it, Batgirl.” 

“Sure. That’s why you didn’t do it now.” 

“Tt.” 

They stayed there for a few moments. If the rooftop was not full of slush, Damian would have sat down there and he knew Brown would have too. It was nice to see that even Brown would not just  _ sit down _ on the disgusting thing that is slush. 

“Robin?” 

“Yes, Batgirl?” 

“In all seriousness, though, layering  _ is _ the way to dress for winter. Because if you get too warm in the day, or night, I guess, you can always take it off. And..,” Brown stops here for a second and then shrugs. “ Well, I guess you don’t have to worry about that one.” 

“What is it?” 

Brown sighs. “It’s cheaper to buy thin socks and layer them up rather than, let’s say, buy a thick, high-quality wool one.” She shrugs again. “Like I said, you don’t have to worry about this one.” 

Oh yeah. Damian forgets that Brown does not have the kind of funds and resources that the rest of the family has. But she  _ is _ working with Gordon, and Gordon has her own funds, right?

Brown must have somehow known what Damian is thinking because she ruffles his hair. “Don’t worry about it, kiddo. Come on, let’s get you back to the Bunker. Wouldn’t want to risk Batman’s wrath, would we?” 

“Tt. Race you there.” As soon as he said that, Damian ran, disregarding his freezing toes to take the most effective route. The prospect of beating Brown, and also that they are only a few blocks away from the Bunker, defeats his dislike of the still disgusting puddle. 

“Hey! You little brat!” Damian can hear Brown shouts from behind him, as he most definitely is leading the race.

(Damian does wear double socks for the next patrol, and he checks the temperature before going out to patrol.) 

**Author's Note:**

> may your decade be better than the one before it! check out my tumblr (huilian.tumblr.com)


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